Costco prints seem much darker

I have notice that my prints from Costco are much darker than on both of my monitors and from my Cannon MP950 printer. I know you can change their settings - which I have never done, but I figured that was just for colors etc.
Anyone else had this problem?

Uncheck their "Auto Correction" box when ordering. Download the profiles at Drycreekphoto.com. Calibrate your monitor.

I notice that they do tend to have slightly dark images, but doing the above should help you out a lot.

Thanks, going to do that now.

It's also a good idea to get familiar with your Costco photo department personnel, and find out what day(s) they change chemicals. The variation between fresh and old chemicals makes a slight difference as well.

SWPhotoImaging wrote in post #3029954
It's also a good idea to get familiar with your Costco photo department personnel, and find out what day(s) they change chemicals. The variation between fresh and old chemicals makes a slight difference as well.

I had the same results until I did what Nick suggested above. Since then, I get ALL my printing done at Costco!

WannaLearn wrote in post #3029966
I had the same results until I did what Nick suggested above. Since then, I get ALL my printing done at Costco!

For the speed, ease and price, they're hard to beat sometimes.

Hi. I used Costco for the first time today, printing 100 pictures of my family for the grandparents who live out-of-state. Most of the pictures were dark and had a murddy/underexposed look to them. The same pictures printed on my HP printer look great. I'll ask about the what day they change the chemicals. Thanks.

~Dom

Be sure to use the printer profile for the Costco you are using.

You can find the profiles here along with instructions.

http://www.drycreekpho​to.com/icc/

Have you calibrated your monitor? Or did you tweak your monitor settings to match your Canon printer?

I always use Costco to print 18x12 "proofs" before I make enlargements, you can't beat the price and convenience.

I haven't done any monitor calibration on my laptop, but have still managed good prints at home with my HP printer. I am starting to search through the threads here for monitor/printer calibration units. Costco is quick and ealtively inexpensive. I would like to be able to send in bulk orders and get something useable back.

~Dom

Not only does Costco do a great job on prints when you take Nick's advice, but they have top-notch photo paper.